WASHINGTON: The United States is aiming to oust Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad from power as he has inflicted horrific violence on his country that’s spilled over into the region.
“The position of the United States has been and remains very clear, and that is that Assad must go,” the US National Security Adviser Susan Rice said in an interview.
“He (Assad) has inflicted horrific violence on his country that’s spilled over into the region. So our strong view is that there isn’t a viable future for Syria that is governed by Assad.”
Rice said that the latest United Nations resolution which is aimed at destroying Syria’s chemical weapons is not limited to President Assad’s government.
“Now, the resolution and the agreement doesn’t speak about Assad as an individual, it speaks about the requirements and the obligations of the Syrian government. And that’s an important distinction, that whatever Syrian government is there, near-term or in the future, will have the same obligation to implement these commitments and this resolution faithfully. So this is not specific to Assad,” Rice said.
In addition, she said that the US has not taken any options off the table and is ready to unilaterally strike Syria if Damascus fails to comply with the resolution.
